Mexican Culture, History, Statistics, People & Events in Oklahoma

Immigrants from Mexico or their descendants comprise the largest part of the Hispanic population in Oklahoma, which continues to grow. Their influence is seen today in the churches, festivals, music and restaurants

His older brothers didn’t want him to join them in Los Angeles. They said he was too young to find work in America. But 15-year-old Antonio Perez was determined to make it across the border.

Perez tried four or five times to sneak across. Each time he was caught and sent back to Mexico. Sometimes he’d spend the night in a cell. At night, he would dream about being in America and would wake up in Tijuana wondering in which direction America lay.

Mexican territorial claims to modern-day Oklahoma were established by 16th and 17th century explorers like Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and Juan de Oñate, and weren’t surrendered until 1848 when the United States-Mexican War ended.